A Business Proposition
by SailorSenshiStar
Summary: A haunting past, a gorgeous boss, tempting lust and a business proposition.


A Business Proposition

By: SailorKittyMoon

Rating: PG-13

Summary: A haunting past, a gorgeous boss, tempting lust and a business proposition.

Chapter: 1

"Send her in," Darien Shields ordered his current secretary, as he swiftly regained his composure.

"Yes, Sir," answered Mina Andrews. She was a slim bubbly blond with light blue eyes and soft, full curves; popular among the men that worked in the company. It was no exception for the boss either and she'd willingly gotten into bed with this merciless business tycoon, she couldn't have refused anyhow especially since the offer came from a devastatingly handsome man with dark, lush ebony locks, striking mid-night blue eyes; that seemed to change in contrast with his moods and high cheekbones stood out from the soft, luscious curve of his lips.

Mina scurried from the room, the boss was thinking about employing a new secretary since she was being given a higher rank. She was still in university so she wasn't able to perform any higher than her current skills but she'd been given this one chance and she was hell bent on not screwing it up, after all, she needed the extra cash and experience.

The woman who was to be interviewed was her roommate. True, Mina had put in a good – very good – word for her but she was sure her best friend would prove her worth. Sure, she was five years younger than her but their relationship over the past four years had taken on everlasting heights. They were as close as sisters.

"Hey babe, he's ready to see you. Good luck!"

The petite blonde in front of her instantly stood up, her blue eyes sparkling with unhidden hope and nervousness.

"Do I look ok? Not too much is it?" she fussed – for the hundredth time – over her black skirt suit underneath which she wore a crisp white shirt and black tights.

"You look gorgeous, go knock em' dead!" Mina assured her and pushed her forwards toward the door.

As she entered, closing the door behind her after an encouraging wink from Mina, she settled and stood in front of the big, mahogany desk. The man before her was evidently absorbed in some other issue since she was abandoned to stare at the back of a dark blue office chair. Waiting for her turn to speak, she was surprised when a deep, rich voice came from the chair.

"Name?"

"Serena, Serena Matthews, Sir," she spoke nervously and this was when he decided to shift and turned to face her.

Serena's breath lodged in her throat as the will of speech left her mind completely. Her vulnerable gaze clashed with the familiar mid-night blue one; she felt her heart constrict as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"So, Miss Matthews," he continued regardless, "As you may be aware, there are a large number of people competing to be placed in the same position you're interviewing for. I want nothing but the best for this company to match its reputation. Mina has told me quite a bit about you and obviously she holds a very high opinion of you. I base a lot on first impressions, so," he paused as he let her take it all in, "What've you got for me?"

Serena cautiously handed him the black folder clutched tightly in her grasp. She watched as he scanned the folder quickly and placed it on the table. Thus ensued a long interview where Serena had to think – a lot – before she opened her mouth to answer.

When the interview was finally over, Serena was utterly devastated! God, she'd stuttered out most of the answers, some ending incoherently. But then again, how was she supposed to concentrate when past, painful memories threatened to overwhelm her and their main source was sitting right here, in front of her?

"Thank you Miss Matthews. I'll have you informed of our decision as soon as possible," and that's when he stopped talking and turned back to the work waiting at his desk.

Serena continued to stare; when he still didn't look up she embarrassingly realized it was her cue to leave. Quickly collecting her belongings, her face tinted a mild red; she headed hurriedly towards the door. When she was less than two meters away from it, she stopped. An intimate feeling coursed through her, she pivoted, her eyes coming in contact with the silky dark hair on his head. She shook her head to clear it, funny, if she wasn't entirely mistaken, it'd felt like he had been staring at her, intensely. That feeling, she recalled, had always been one of his traits.

"Come on, spill. I want all the details, what happened at the interview?" Mina asked, immediately after she'd entered their apartment.

Serena sighed, "You noticed?"

"Of course I noticed!" Mina said with a huge grin on her pretty face.

"We go long back," Serena muttered.

"Ah! So you're old companions?"

"Not really, we used to," she paused; "We had what you could call a relationship," she finished grudgingly.

Mina stopped, frozen to the spot, turning around swiftly she headed for the seat on the sofa next to Serena, and then she exploded, "YOU WHAT! HOW COME YOU NEVER TOLD ME?"

Serena looked at her sheepishly, "Well, I didn't really know your boss was THE Darien Shields. I mean yeah, I knew him, but we weren't ever really that close. In fact, I hardly knew anything about him. Besides," she shrugged her shoulder, "I met him in Europe. I wasn't expecting him here in New York!"

"How long ago was this?" Mina asked.

"Eight years," Serena sighed.

"So you're over him … right?"

"Of course I am. We didn't end on such good terms, well he kind of broke it off with me, but yeah, I'm definitely over him."

"What do you mean 'such good terms'?"

"We'd been together for a year, I found out he was having an affair. His parting words were something along the lines of, 'I have no interest in young impressionable teenagers like you. Go indulge with someone closer to your age.' He's only three years older than me but there you go."

"Oh my God, I slept with your ex," Mina clamped her hand on her mouth. "I thought he was such a nice guy and he hurt my best friend!"

"Hey, it's not that bad, besides I learnt a valuable lesson from that. You should never interact sex with something more. I thought I loved him."

Mina frowned, "Poor dear," she murmured comfortingly as she drew her in a hug, "I'd never thought."

Serena leaned into her hug before Mina's words settled into her hazy thought process, "Well what were you so excited about then? Since you didn't know about there being … uh … stuff between us."

Mina looked at her apologetically, "You got the job. He called me into his office straight after you'd left. I thought maybe you'd done or said something totally unique to get a response so quickly."

"It's probably cause you put in such a good word for me" Serena rationalized.

"No, I don't think that's what it was. In fact, it seemed like he was almost excited about having you work for him."

Hey guys, bad news, I've lost all my notes for 'Encounters' so I'll have to scrounge around for those. Anyhow, hope you enjoy this chap and I'll try to update the other stories ASAP. I'm still working on them!


End file.
